By BILL WHITE, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, March 2, 2006

On Sept. 18, 2004, comedian Dave Chappelle staged his own low-rent Wattstax at the intersection of Downey and Quincy streets in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. Michel Gondry's film of that event is a state of the hip-hop nation address that should be seen by everyone who dismisses rap music as violent, misogynistic and sociopathic.

Although "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" offers performances by some of hip-hop's biggest stars, including Kanye West, Common and Mos Def, it is more a street-level view of how that music relates to the community than it is a concert film. When Jill Scott and Erykah Badu get down together behind The Roots, it is more a neighborhood jam than a star turn. Even the Fugees' reunion, which climaxes the concert, happens without hype.

The film begins three days before the block party, with Chappelle visiting his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, where he hands out "golden tickets" to the show and signs the town's marching band as performers. One of the most inspiring scenes features Wyclef Jean rehearsing them for choral support on "If I Was President." As Dead Prez breaks out with "Turn Off the Radio," Chappelle gets an oral history of the neighborhood from people who recall the days when Biggie Smalls was just a kid in the day-care center.

The film doesn't shy away from the political side of hip-hop. In one scene, Mos Def shocks some young people with the story behind the murder of Black Panther martyr Fred Hampton, after which Hampton's son leads a "Free Political Prisoners" chant from the stage.

An intimate backstage moment is captured with Jill Scott watching Erykah Badu's performance on a monitor, the respect she carries for her fellow performer a contrast to the impression that hip-hop is all about competition.

Another misconception that is quickly cleared up is the one that says rappers can't sing. Nobody who hears Lauryn Hill's version of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" is going to buy that one.

Director Gondry, whose résumé includes features such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" as well as music videos, captures this day in Brooklyn with a relaxed, perceptive eye that lets the participants on both sides of the stage speak for themselves.